Making Laminates ??

[matts2]

I have a neighbor that has a mini saw mill and is often cutting hardwoods.  I am thinking of having him cut some thin pieces that I can get down to laminate size.  I understand they will be wet and that's not a problem.  I am curious on different processes on making wood laminates.  

Can a thickness planer put a clean enough surface on them to get a clean laminate?

What thicknesses are most wood laminates?

I have read about taper on laminates.  Is that necessary?

Thanks for the help

[Dave Worden]

A thickness planer is only good down to ABOUT 1/8" thickeness.  Thinner than that and it tends to lift the wood and shatter it.  Thickness of laminates is dependent upon the use: that is, face veneers for fiberglass laminated bows can be almost paper thin; additional lams for strength will be whatever is needed to develop the proper strength; lams for all wood bows tend to be thicker than those in glass laminated bows.  Lams can be, but don't have to be tapered.  Tapering allows for more flexibility in the tips of the bow; probably of more use in recurves than longbows, but not limited only to recurves.  As for the lams that your neighbor cuts being wet, if they're thin they wont be wet long!  Be sure to seal the ends to limit checking and sticker them as they dry just like you would any thicker piece.  If you have a bow oven you could even dry them in it.  I almost forgot to mention, if you want lams thinner than 1/8" you'll need to sand them to get them that thin.  A thickness sander is best for this, but a drum sander can work if you work slowly enough to eliminate any scalloping.

[matts2]

Thanks Dave.
Right now, my thoughts for laminating is just in longbows and wood only.  I am sure I will attempt glass in the future, but all wood is what I am striving for right now.  

When dealing with wood laminates, should they be cut a certain way.  I a thinking the quarter saw is what is needed then rotate the grains in the layers?

I knew 1/8" was maxing out a planer.  Is 1/8" a good size for a all wood long bow?

Thanks

[JamesV]

Matt.....

This has been debated forever. A thickness sander is probably a better tool to make lams unless you only make a few bows and don't want to invest $500 plus. I cut lams down to .060 with my planer (parallels and tapers) with no problems. PM me and I can walk you thur it.

James.................

[matts2]

Thanks James.
I don't have a planer yet.  I am looking to get one and wanted to make sure I knew what I was getting into with lams.  I don't see a sander in the future but a planer will show up sooner or later.

[Savage]

I have seen some threads on here that show you how to make your own lam jig using a spindle sander and using a belt sander. I think Dick in Seattle did one you might check in to it.

[eflanders]

I plane my lams down to as little as .045" using a sled.  Without the sled, they chatter to much and I can only get .090" at best.  Without a doubt though a thickness sander works best.  I am going to make one using the disc sander spindle off of my belt/disc sander.

[matts2]

I picked up a planer last night and was playing with it today.  Also using a sled and some double stick tape, I was able to get pretty thin.  Thanks for everyones help.